ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Davenport University men's basketball team trailed crosstown rival Grand Valley State by only three, 64-61, with just over three minutes left to play on Thursday night. The Lakers then outscored the Panthers 11-5 the rest of the way to win it on their home court, 75-66. During that late three-minute stretch, Davenport had just five field goal attempts (2-for-5) with three turnovers while Grand Valley State went 2-for-3 from the floor and 6-for-8 at the free throw line.

Davenport finishes the regular season at 19-11 overall and 11-9 in GLIAC play with a trip to Northwood (16-12, 11-9 GLIAC) on Tuesday for the quarterfinals of the GLIAC Tournament. The Panthers swept the season series with the Timberwolves including a 70-63 win in Midland and a 74-70 victory in Grand Rapids.

Fifty of Davenport's 66 points came from two players in Chris Rollins (career-high 28) and Chris Pearl (season-high 22). If not for foul trouble, Rollins may have scored 30 to go with his six rebounds, six assists and two steals in 34 minutes on the court. The point guard made 10 of his 18 field goal attempts (7-for-11 from three) while Pearl went 8-for-11 from the floor and 6-for-6 at the charity stripe to score his 22 points. Pearl also notched five boards, two blocks and a pair of steals in a game-high 38 minutes played.

The first half went back-and-forth as it saw three ties and four lead changes. Davenport's biggest lead was four, 34-30, with under a minute on the clock while Grand Valley State led by as many as six on three different occasions. The Panthers ended the half a mini 8-2 spurt to take a two-point advantage into halftime, 34-32.

Out of the break, Davenport took its biggest lead of the game when it was up eight, 44-36, just over four minutes into the half. Then came a stretch where the home team outscored its visitors by eight, 17-9, before the night's final deadlock at 53-53. From there until the final buzzer, the Lakers scored 22 points to the Panthers' 13 to win it with the nine-point margin.

Story by: Cooper Weidenthaler